The Girl Next Door
by scifiromance
Summary: In 2354, the U.S.S Raven crashed on a planet that would, 18 years later, come to by known as 'New Earth' by the two crewmembers the U.S.S Voyager had to leave behind there... 'Resolutions' S02xE25 AU. C/7.
1. Prologue: Annika's Eyes

Annika shuddered with the ship as another thud reverberated close by; it was as if the Raven itself was groaning. She felt sobs building in her throat again as she watched the last of her art pictures, which had all been safely tacked to her bedroom walls when she'd first been tucked into bed, flutter to the floor. To Annika's wide eyes it looked as if the walls were buckling, about to cave in and crush her. "Mama…" She croaked out hoarsely, "Papa!" Clutching her blanket even closer to her chest as her parents' muffled, but fearful, voices seemed to grow more distant rather than closer to her, she slid her face off her tear dampened pillow and cowered in the centre of her bed with the duvet pulled over her, though she had to leave a gap open to let light in, darkness frightened her just as much as the chaos going on around her.

The next blast made the world around her lurch and roll, leaving Annika clinging to her bed sheets as her refuge was for one moment rocked to a strange angle. Her little bookcase, a sixth birthday present from the day before, didn't have any such support and fell forward with a violent crash that drowned out Annika's choked scream even as that sound itself was rendered akin to a whisper when compared with the cacophony of sounds reverberating from the Raven's Bridge. Annika's ears picked up on one particular sound, mostly because it reminded her of the time her father had yelled at her when she'd crept too close for comfort to the set-up for a fireworks display back on Tendara IV. The fireworks had made sounds like that after Papa had dragged her away, sparking and hissing before a final boom…

"Magnus!" Her mother's frantic cry was enough to break Annika free of her stupor, remind her of the existence of comfort and safety. She scrambled out of bed, from the bottom to avoid the debris scattered around her room, and slipped through the door onto the Bridge without even pausing to notice that the doors had only managed to creak halfway open upon her approach.

The Bridge was in uproar. Annika even took a stumbling step back when she saw that the console nearest her bedroom door had exploded, white hot plasma oozing out of the cracked screen as wisps of smoke stifled her cry into a petrified squeak. Her parents were still oblivious to her presence, with her father's towering frame now bent double over the comm. as his wife flitted between the consoles which were still functional. Both sets of their beloved eyes were fixed on something above Annika's head, the viewscreen. When she finally followed their gaze, the tears already escaping from her eyes began to fall in earnest. It was a truly nightmarish sight. The Borg Cube that filled up most of the screen was familiar to her, Papa and Mama had chosen to follow it out of Borg Space when it left on a mission because it carried some of the Queen's special drones, but that familiarity didn't ease her mind, not now. Instead of being surrounded by normal, starry space, both the Cube and the Raven were enclosed in vicious, multi-coloured skies, like a malevolent rainbow which also spat lightning. That lightning was what had been hitting the ship. The Cube was lopsided, it appeared as if something had bitten off one whole corner, and was rapidly falling out of the viewscreen, its green luminosity dimming as it tumbled.

Annika fell as the Raven, too, surged downward uncontrollably. It was only then, as she yelped in pain, that her parents finally tore their horrified gazes from the tumult outside to their young daughter. "Annika!" Her mother gasped out, staggering towards her child, "You can't be out here right now baby…"

"Mama, is someone attacking the Borg Cube?" Annika asked fretfully as she tried to crawl to her mother on her knees, "Why are they attacking us?"

Erin finally managed to catch her daughter under her arm and pin her to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut for an instant as Annika's question made her heart hurt. They'd prepared her in many ways, piqued her curiosity, but nothing could prepare her, or anyone, for what they were faced with. "No, we don't think anyone is attacking us, or the Borg, it's a really bad plasma storm. But don't worry Anni; you know what a good pilot your Papa is…" She tried to slacken the child's grip on her waist then, but Annika just clung tighter. "Annika, we need you to go back to your room and wait. You need to be brave…"

"No Mama!" Annika pleaded tearfully, "Let me stay with you!"

"Erin!" Magnus' shout was strident, his eyes still locked on the comm., he couldn't face his daughter right now. "I need you to find a landing spot, the warp nacelles are gone."

"Gone?" Erin echoed, nauseated. That was enough for her to abandon Annika for that moment, for all their sakes. She ran to the last of the long-range sensor consoles. "The third planet in the system, it's M-Class, but the Cube is heading there too…"

"That doesn't matter, it's our only choice!" Magnus shouted back over the din of the multiple alarms blaring in tandem, "I'm plotting in a course!"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?!" Erin gasped out in disbelief, "You know what the Borg will do to us if they…"

Only know did Magnus turn to meet his wife's eyes with a tortured look in his own. "I know." He said thickly, "But they're even worse off than us right now, from what I can see on sensors their link with the Collective has been severed, which is why they're in such disarray. If that's not the case then we'll just have to hope they all die in the crash…" Another hit from the plasma sent him crashing forward into the comm. console, but he ignored the winded feeling to dial in his last few commands. "It's going to be a hell of a rough landing, hold on!"

Somewhere beneath his feet, cowering under another console but trying to follow her mother's plea for her to be brave, Annika did indeed hold on even as she wept.

* * *

_18 Years Later_

Chakotay had been standing just outside the shelter clearing the dirt and leaf debris from his shoes for five minutes, being stranded here had given the phrase 'a man's home is his castle' new meaning recently and he'd become punctilious in keeping his new 'home' clean, but he only noticed that Kathryn was inside after he'd already crossed the room to boil water. He jumped when he finally saw her, though he supposed he shouldn't have been _that _surprised to see her bent over the microscope that had pride of place on their sole table, set aside temporarily only when they were eating. He cleared his throat, feeling awkward that in his distraction he hadn't seen her, and more so when she continued to not acknowledge him. "Any further forward?" he eventually asked, though he already knew the answer as well as he knew that the Captain would dance around it.

Kathryn finally glanced up at him, swiping a stand of hair out of her eyes as she did so. "The insects that were in the traps this morning don't carry the virus…" She admitted, her fingers toying with the microscope slides much as he'd been able to observe her doing with her comm. badge on Voyager once upon a time. "But that making me all the more certain that the answer lies in the primates, I'll start designing new traps after I've finished cataloguing this last specimen of the day."

"That could be a challenge." Chakotay remarked thoughtfully as he began to wash the sweat off his face and neck, "My father always used to say that you should never underestimate a monkey, they're related to us after all. If you managed to trap it at all, I doubt you could get it to submit to the tests you have in mind without killing it first."

Kathryn's eyes flashed wilfully for an instant. "I wouldn't kill him Chakotay, humans have tamed primates before, and observing it might tell us something."

"You're right." Chakotay conceded, "We've got plenty more time with the insects and monkeys of this world."

Kathryn's eyes dipped uncharacteristically for a moment. "Maybe." She muttered, "But I don't intend to waste any of that time until I find a cure."

"Kathryn…" Chakotay began, but stopped as he saw her tense for a fight, readiness shining from her eyes, "Maybe it would be more productive to give yourself a break, of sorts. I was going to head out to look for fresh fruit today…"

Kathryn felt a frown begin to form in her brow, though she fought it since she realised he meant well. She was just tired of his, what she was as his insidious, attempts to get her to surrender to this situation. The combination of exasperation and coaxing in his tone hadn't worked while the boundary of rank stood between them, and it wasn't going to work now either. "We have the replicator." She cut him off dismissively.

"Which won't last forever, we have to use all the natural resources we have here." Chakotay pointed out, "What I was going to say was the monkey will probably be more tempted by its native fruits than anything else, perfect bait for your trap. It's getting hot out there; we must be getting into summer, so there should at least we something ripe."

Kathryn's gaze softened, "That's a fair point." She agreed, some hint of apology now present in her strained voice, "But you go on ahead without me today." She sighed heavily as she gestured at the microscope, then down towards the stack of half-built insect and monkey traps around her feet. "I should persevere with this."

Chakotay nodded reluctantly and headed for the doorway, but couldn't stop himself from turning back to her with a weakly teasing smile, "If anyone else were here, they might think you were avoiding spending much time with me."

Janeway chuckled tiredly, "They'd also soon realise I'm not the outdoorsy type, and come to the conclusion that I'd just slow you down." She looked past him and through the doorway to the lush and peaceful forest outside, her face tightening as if she feared it would suck her in. "I'll keep an eye out for fruit myself when I'm checking the rest of the bug traps, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Chakotay replied wryly just before she turned back to the microscope and he took that as his cue to leave.

* * *

He'd been walking for almost three kilometres before he found any decently laden fruit bushes, it seemed that the Captain's new monkey friend had picked clean whatever lay closer to home. Not that any of the slim selection he had managed to gather in his canvas knapsack would necessarily turn out to be edible; a tricorder wasn't completely reliable in revealing poisonous alien plant life, as his numerous harvesting trips with Neelix over the course of Voyager's journey had proved. Still, he kept walking. This was by far the most distant he'd been from camp, and that fact alone was replenishing his soul somewhat. He'd actually been arguing the case for exploration for days now, but Kathryn never wanted to stray far from the comfort of her makeshift lab. Was that really any different, in essence, from what he'd been doing though? Building things for the shelter from early in the morning until the last shaft of light failed to penetrate the trees, from bathtubs to headboards, wasn't that about distracting himself from the situation as just Kathryn was using the search for a cure as her crutch? Maybe, he acknowledged, but at least he was part of the way to accepting the way things were. The reality of their marooning. Kathryn hadn't moved an inch towards reconciling herself with that fact. That conversation before he'd left this morning was the most amiable one they'd had in days, after his attempt at trying to push her gently towards acceptance, and then, as his patience had ebbed, confronting her with the impression he had that his efforts to help them both settle, to build a life here, were making her uncomfortable. It had proven to leave her resentful as well, really they'd both withdrawn from each other after that, because, to be honest, he'd been hurt by her accusation that he'd given up.

Was trying to make the situation remotely tolerable equitable with giving up? To think so made his heart ache, though he knew the Captain, for now at least, thought so. He hoped she'd come to appreciate these early efforts of his in time, but as the days passed he grew more unsure. Yet, it wasn't as if he had much choice but to hope, there was only the two of them here, and he didn't want to live in this limbo with her forever, constantly skating on thin ice. He knew he probably could content himself with her if she let go and let him in, he was attracted to her. Always had been, in a way, she was strong, intelligent, curious about the universe around her but with strong morals. All that, and an enigma had always drawn him in. It had been that way with Sveta in the Academy, and of course with Seska, though those two heartbreakers weren't reassuring examples. Kathryn still hid a lot from him. In the social hothouse of Voyager, where loneliness had been endemic if not constant as it was here, he'd often longed for her to open up, but now he found he could hardly rouse himself to try to draw blood from the stone. It had probably lost its appeal when they'd woken up in a real-life 'If you were the last person in the world…' scenario. The knowledge that she would probably want to be intimate with him one day just to relieve the boredom and loneliness wasn't exactly cheering, nor what he'd pictured his relationship with a lifelong romantic partner to be like.

He sighed, irrationally irritated when that one sound echoed eerily through the empty forest around him. There weren't even any monkeys in sight. He took a few hurried, anxious strides forward before checking himself; there was nothing to fear here. To back up the reminder, he began to whistle as he walked, growing louder and more forcefully jaunty with every step he took. So it took him a few moments to hear the occasional rustle around him, but when he did, his eyes zeroed in on it enough to hear heavy breathing. But that was impossible. Maybe this place was making him lose his mind quicker than he would've liked…

A phaser shot however, is much harder to imagine than someone's breath making the hairs on the of your neck stand on end, and in that moment the unmistakable red-orange beam of a phaser shot cut a sharp angled line over Chakotay's head, fizzing threateningly through the air. He dived to the ground with a soldier's sharp instincts, and then scrambled back into a crouching position quickly to assess his attacker. One glance behind him showed the round burn of the phaser on the tree trunk directly behind him, but his attention was really directed forward. Directly opposite him, veiled by the undergrowth but locking with his gaze all the same, were a pair of piercing blue, humanoid, eyes.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I hope you all like my newest AU idea! I'm so caught up with it right now I'll probably go and start on the next chapter as soon as this one is posted. ;) **


	2. Out of the Woods

The blue eyes widened with his; for an instant it was as if Chakotay saw a warped reflection of himself through the trees, but in the next moment the spell was broken. The owner of the eyes twisted away, the greenery shimmering in front of Chakotay's dazed eyes as he tried to focus on the indistinct figure flitting away, slipping out of the grasp of his senses. "Wait!" he shouted hoarsely, springing from his crouching position into a full on run, "Wait!" The bag of fruit he'd been carrying began to slip from his suddenly damp hands, hanging around his ankles. "Don't go!" he called out, growing increasingly desperate as the silence of the forest began to close in on him again, stealing his breath after he'd run just a few strides. He was sprawled out on the ground, with the fruit rolling loose around him, before he realised that his foot was buried among tree roots. The light slanting tauntingly through the trees made him squint as he strained his head upwards. "Come back…please…."

Stillness reigned and he finally let his head rest on the ground as his breathing slowed, his fingers clawing at the dirt. It had been a mirage, this planet may be lush, but it was a social desert, he knew that, and Kathryn would tell him again. There was no reason to go down a rung in terms of her respect for him…

The soft squelch of several years worth of damp, fallen leaves made his breath catch, all despondent thoughts flying out of his head as he saw the lower half of a pair of legs. Sandals. Simple, homemade, maybe made out of wood and leather; similar to what his ancestors would've worn in the summer. Maybe he'd found another colony of 'Sky Spirit' aliens, aliens who could disguise themselves from Voyager, control the weather… A bubble of near hysterical laughter, of relief, left his throat. "You came back…" He whispered faintly.

He heard a gasp echo above him, and the sandaled feet edged forward, Chakotay could feel those eyes boring into him without having to look up. He feared this dream or delusion would end if he pushed it too far. He focused instead on the details at his current eye level. Pale skinned, but the left leg was badly scarred… "Du är manniska..." Chakotay jolted his head upright as he recognised that voice as unmistakably female, his mouth falling open as he met those blue eyes again.

"You're human…" He began in disbelief, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

The woman's hand held an antiquated phaser by her hip, a model he hadn't seen since his Academy days, and its rusted muzzle jerked as she stumbled back from him. "Vem är du?" she choked out, grasping her own carry bag to her stomach like a shield as she gulped, her full lips pursing into a thin line of disbelief.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand you…" Chakotay tried to explain as he scrambled up to his feet, unthinkingly reaching for her arm when she began to back away, but quickly dropping his hand when he saw her flinch. Her left arm was also scarred, more noticeably than her legs, to his uneducated eyes it looked like she'd suffered severe burns at one point. Yet, she was still beautiful, strikingly so, young and statuesque, with her thick blonde hair pulled back from her face in a ponytail. The style exposed one last visible burn scar, her right eyebrow was almost gone and an angry red gash of a burn followed the curve of her cheek on that side. Following the track of his eyes, the girl stiffened further, pulling a long strand of her hair over the offending part of her face and tucking her left arm behind her back, her confused awe becoming a distrustful glare. "Uh…" Chakotay started awkwardly, running a hand through his own hair. Why had he sent aside his comm. badge with its in-built Universal Translator? He should've known better than to discard it as a memento of his former life, of the home he wouldn't be returning to. "I know you can't understand me, but you're not in any danger. I'm just shocked other humans are here… " He put his empty hands up in the air for good measure.

"Du talar engelska…" The girl muttered, pressing a hand to her brow, but she must've seen at least some of his earnestness for her white-knuckled grip on her phaser slackened. She heaved a deep breath as she met his gaze again, "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

Chakotay blinked at her. "You have a Universal Translator? Or you can speak English?"

"I speak English." The young woman replied slowly, "Now…tell me who you are."

"I'm…Chakotay." Chakotay answered carefully, while trying to place her strong accent. Dutch? Norwegian? "What's your name?" he enquired.

She shook her head distractedly, "How did you get here? We have not…seen a ship crash…"

"We didn't crash." Chakotay replied simply, deciding there was no point to being secretive on that front, before peering at her inquisitively, "Is that what happened to you, your group? Your ship crashed?" She didn't seem to come to the same conclusion about what was worthwhile keeping to herself, at least not as quickly as he had, rocking back on her heels as she studied him intently before finally answering with an abrupt nod. "Our ship needed supplies, our Cap…my friend and I were sent down on an away mission, but it turned out we couldn't leave because of the virus." He continued.

She stared at him blankly for a split second, before realisation lit her bright eyes, but the darkness of doubt and distrust quickly closed up her face, which was just as stunningly beautiful as the rest of her, scars and all. "My…name is Annika." She announced suddenly, giving Chakotay the impression she wanted time to process what he'd just told her, but still he was too intrigued to be truly wary of her.

Instead, he gave her what he hoped was a winning smile. Now wasn't the time to be reserved, not when he'd just found another human, a human who spoke of 'we' on a planet he'd thought was deserted. "Annika…that's a pretty name."

Annika now pulled her hair back out of her face, her own smile in return shy and rueful. "It's Swedish." She explained.

Chakotay coloured slightly, "Oh, so that's what you were speaking before."

Annika sighed and glanced down at her feet, "Ja." She said awkwardly. Her confusion was starting to build, when she'd first seen him she'd seen a threat, proof of why her father made her carry the phaser when she went this far from home, but this man, she didn't know what to make of him.

"Look Annika…" Chakotay began, clearing his throat again. Somehow, though of course he'd been talking to Kathryn, his voice felt as if he hadn't really used it for awhile. "I'm guessing here that we both have a lot of questions, I thought my friend and I were alone on this planet, and the only way we're going to get answers is to trust each other. If you can come to my camp and…"

"Nej." Annika cut in sharply, flushing as she felt his eyes on her, "I should not do that. I have to go…home Chakotay."

She stumbled a little over pronouncing his name, and Chakotay reminded himself to speak clearly. "Well, can I come with you? Or come to your home tomorrow with my friend?" He saw her tense again and tried to reach their common ground again, "It's just that there aren't many people on this planet as far as I know, so we should at least try to get along, right?"

"Right." Annika agreed hurriedly before she caught herself growing too eager and sobered. "I cannot take you home, and you will not find it, it's…protected."

It was Chakotay's turn to smile ruefully, "I thought it must be, since our sensors never revealed a settlement, I'm impressed."

"We have some very…clever people." Annika said, and Chakotay saw that she was nervous rather than being intentionally cryptic. Her eye caught the fruit rolling around the yawning gap between them on the forest floor, and she skilfully scooped up one of the more promising ones that resembled a plum. "This is giftigt…bad." She told him brokenly, scrunching up her face for effect.

"Bad?" Chakotay echoed, "You mean poisonous?"

"Yes!" Annika nodded vigorously, glad to hear the proper English word. "Giftigt…poisonous."

Chakotay now looked down at his meagre collection of provisions with a dubious eye. "Can I eat any of this?"

Annika felt a nervous laugh of her own rise to her lips as she briefly dropped her gaze from his to evaluate his motley pickings. She kicked away the majority of it with her foot, one by one, hearing another embarrassed laugh from him as she did so, then picked up the only remaining specimen she would've touched with a barge pole. "This one is…" Her memory for English words failed her again, and she had to curse the fact that she'd learnt that language almost entirely from books. 'Chakotay', she couldn't figure out what kind of name that was if it was even real, nodded obligingly in understanding and reached for the fruit she held, but impulsively she bit into it herself to prove her point.

I guess I can trust she wouldn't poison me, even if she would wildly fire a phaser at me, Chakotay mentally concluded wryly as he smirked at her, seeing the glint of amusement in her eyes. "Good?"

Annika was disconcerted as she felt heat flood her cheeks. He was…magnetic to look at even as her shock at his being human gradually faded. Even taller than her father, more broadly muscular, she began to feel silly for approaching him as a stranger, he was as imposing as he was handsome. "Yes…" She muttered awkwardly, trying to curtain her thoughts even as he smiled again and her lips automatically curved up to mimic him. "This is better." She declared, glad to lower her eyes to glance in her bag, pulling out her best find of the day and pressing it into his open palm.

Chakotay grimaced slightly, the small fruit she'd given him resembled a prune, not exactly his favourite delicacy. As he watched her brows rise however, he felt goaded into tasting it. A pleasantly mild, sweet flavour exploded on his tongue. "Wow…" he admitted, "It tastes like pear."

Annika started to giggle at his childish expression of awe, but quickly stifled the sound with the back of her hand. "You…have not been here long have you?"

"No." He replied honestly, sensing her eyes sweeping over him and suddenly self-conscious of his snug, almost new clothes and sturdy boots, although he knew he had mud streaked all down his front from his fall. Annika didn't exactly look uncivilised in what she was wearing, in fact in design it was similar to the dresses Kathryn had replicated for herself, just past knee length with summery cap sleeves. However, it was well worn, he could see several patches on the thinning fabric that had perhaps once been a rich purple, but was now a blotchy pink, drained to white in spots where the dye had been washed out. She shifted uncomfortably now under his stare, and he forced himself to elaborate on the question. He didn't feel he had much to lose being honest. "We've been here three weeks, not including the two weeks we spent in stasis." He regarded her gently when he saw her blanch, "How long have you been here Annika?"

Annika shook her head as she gulped hard. "Where…where is your home?"

"My home…" Chakotay trailed off, the words bitter in his mouth. The ship he'd made his home was light years away now. "Our _camp _is about three kilometres east of here." He reached out for her good, uninjured shoulder, though the grip she had on both her phaser and her bag told him she had full function of both her arms, relaxing himself when she didn't flinch away from his touch. "Come back with me Annika, please."

Annika turned her face up to his plaintively, inner conflict deepening the frown on her face. "I…" She stopped, a new thought striking her. "Your _camp_…it has apan…" She sighed as she again combed her mind for a word, "…it has monkeys?"

To her ears Chakotay's chuckle in reply was distinctly sheepish, even as he rewarded her deduction with a wide, almost boyish, grin. "Yes, yes it does."

"I know there…" Annika mumbled, "I haven't been for two months…"

Chakotay heard the self-reproach in her voice, perhaps she felt responsible for patrolling the security her people had obviously managed to put in place, but he decided, perhaps unwisely, to ignore it. "Well, you should come now then. I know Kathryn would love to meet you."

"Kathryn?" Annika echoed, "That's your…wife's name?" she asked tentatively.

She couldn't fail to notice his violent start in response, "No! Yes, no…I mean she's not my wife, but her name is Kathryn." He finally managed to push out a tangled answer.

"Oh."Annika muttered, just to fill the unsettling silence, but quickly distracted herself by glancing up at the sun. It was still high in the air, but Chakotay was so new here he might not realise that. "I must go home."

"There's still plenty of daylight out." Chakotay reminded her, far from fooled, though he had no real idea how distant wherever Annika considered 'home' was from where they stood. He sighed heavily as she took an agile but firm step further back from him. "Look…" He began again, "You're the one with the phaser, I think you can come with me and be perfectly safe."

Annika bit her bottom lip as she felt a smirk begin to form against her will. "I…suppose so." She conceded reluctantly, watching him intently for a long moment before wordlessly slipping the aforementioned phaser into her bag. "I believe the English phrase is…let's go."

**A/n: I've been writing this with a serious cold, so I hope this is okay, PLEASE REVIEW! :D As is always the case when I use Swedish in my chapters, I apologise to any Swedish readers for any mistakes. **


	3. Answers from the Mouth of a Stranger

Chakotay had thought that he and Annika would walk together back to his and Kathryn's 'camp'; he wondered again why, when faced with an outsider, he hadn't called it the 'home' it now was by his own earlier insistence. However, Annika surprised him again by gradually increasing her distance from him as they walked. She made just enough noise, purposefully Chakotay suspected, to reassure him that she was still with him, giving him a glimpse of her golden crown of hair every so often peeping through the undergrowth as she moved with the confident agility of someone traversing their own garden. It hurt him slightly, as socially starved as he was, that she was limiting contact between them, but he knew that in her place, being led by a stranger into their settlement, he would've done the same. She'd been heart-warmingly trusting just by relinquishing her phaser, whether the action was merely symbolic or not. It wouldn't be hard to take the phaser back out of her bag to shoot him after all. Maybe he was pondering her intentions too intensely, it could just be that she didn't want to have to continually maintain her command of English for longer than absolutely necessary…

"Chakotay?" He jumped as he heard her soft voice by his left ear, she'd materialised at his shoulder as suddenly as if she'd been transported there. But of course, one glance at her now muddy sandals told him that she'd just managed to approach him utterly soundlessly. He couldn't help but admit that if he hadn't unnerved her enough to fire her phaser at him then he never would've known she was with him back there.

"You would've made a great Maquis scout…" He chuckled tightly to himself as he looked back at her.

"Maquis?" Annika echoed blankly, a confused and wary frown becoming prominent in her face once again.

He wordlessly waved away the reference, cursing his loose tongue. "What were you trying to say to me?" he redirected her.

Annika's stance relaxed slightly as a small, playful smirk played across her lips. "I was…wondering if that was your camp." She replied as she arched her uninjured arm gracefully and pointed through the trees just to the left of them.

Chakotay halted abruptly as he belatedly realised that she was right, the silver, heat reflecting skin of his and Kathryn's shelter gleamed in the sunlight like a prominent beacon. He'd walked almost to the front door without noticing; he'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he'd returned on autopilot, he may even have followed Annika's sense of direction for all he knew. "Yeah, that's it." He confirmed, frowning a little himself, his embarrassment draining away, as he saw her studying the shelter with an inscrutable expression. "What do you think."

"It's small." Annika replied distractedly, her eyes still fixed on his camp, but she had enough grace to blush as he laughed awkwardly in agreement, finally turning to look at him. "But it's very…new and neat." She gave a satisfied nod, "You will be fine."

Chakotay smiled then, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Annika's head dipped shyly, the fingers of her right hand unconsciously coming up to toy with the few locks of hair that veiled her facial scar. "Chakotay…is your friend a doctor? Or you?"

Chakotay touched her shoulder briefly in concern, surprised by the sudden influx of pain and anxiety into her voice. "I'm sorry, no. Kathryn is a very able scientist but not a medical doctor, and as for me, well…" Without intending to be so blatant, his eyes quickly skimmed over the scars that crisscrossed her visible skin. "Our crew did leave us with several full medical kits though if you…"

Annika shook her head as she allowed herself one hard gulp before looking up, able to sense his eyes on her. "These?" She muttered dismissively, dragging her hair behind her ear to put the starkest scar on full display. "No, these are irre…do not matter much."

Chakotay accepted her word, knowing he'd made her uncomfortable. "I'll go and try to find Kathryn." He told her, before regarding her apprehensively, "You'll stay here?" He hadn't intended that sentiment to leave his mouth as a question but somehow, looking at her in that moment, it did nonetheless.

The relief that flooded him when she nodded firmly, and tried her best to smile at him, was of an unexpected strength, but he pushed it aside to make the last few strides up to his supposed sanctuary alone. Still, he glanced back towards Annika every couple of steps, as if to reassure himself that this strange planet's forest hadn't dreamt her up for him. "Kathryn!" he called as he spotted a new bug trap swinging in the wind as it hung from a nearby branch. She wouldn't be far from her research, especially while since he'd departed and left her in peace for a while. "Kathryn!" he shouted again, more urgently this time.

Kathryn's auburn head, her hair less strictly styled than when she'd been tied to the Captain's chair, popped out from behind a tree before she made her way impatiently towards him, the boxy monkey trap she'd obviously been successful in constructing while he'd been gone bundled protectively in her arms. "You're back Chakotay, of course I'm glad but did you have to be so loud in announcing it? I almost had our primate friend and then your voice scared him off…" She trailed off as Chakotay grasped her wrist tightly to interrupt her. "What is it?"

"I've found something…someone a hell of a lot better than a monkey that's all." Chakotay answered, growing flustered. "Well, maybe she found me, or we found each other, but…"

"Chakotay, what are you talking about?" Kathryn shook her head at him in worried bemusement, "Someone? _She_?"

"Yes." Chakotay said resolutely, "Just go into the shelter and get our comm. badges…"

Kathryn shifted her weight to lower her monkey trap gently to the ground before reaching into her dress' pocket and pulling out her comm. badge, pinning it proudly to her breast like a cadet about to meet an Admiral. Chakotay smiled at her, you could take the Captain off her ship but you couldn't take the Captain out of the woman. "I've got it right here, but what precisely do I need it for?" she demanded of Chakotay dryly.

Chakotay didn't think he could explain it without sounding insane, so he merely turned back towards the trees he'd left behind. For a gut-wrenching split second he thought Annika had disappeared, but in the next moment he spotted her, following her usual mo. of disguising herself among the greenery. He was reminded of their first meeting, and hoped it bode well for this next one. "Annika? This is Kathryn…"

Kathryn stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, "Anni…" She began, her voice dying in her throat as a girl swept into the open and stopped about half a metre from Chakotay. Her eyes began to hurt as she strained to focus, as well as believe, what she was seeing. "A human? Here?" she whispered, thrown off by the graphic scars but unable to deny that this young woman was undoubtedly as human as she herself was.

Annika couldn't quite bite back a sigh. Was that going to be the new universal greeting? It was what she had first said to Chakotay, though he hadn't understood, and also the first thing he'd said to her directly. "Yes, I am." She confirmed briskly before catching Chakotay's and gesturing to Kathryn's comm. badge. "There's a Universal Translator in that badge then?"

Chakotay grinned at her, able to hear that the system already had all three of them in its net, even without the added support of his own comm. badge. "Great isn't it?" He could tell she'd relaxed a notch as she allowed herself to slip into her native tongue once again. Her voice had a clarity and ease to it that it hadn't before, though he was glad to still hear her Swedish accent, now soft, prettily sing-song and exotic rather than obtrusively thick.

Kathryn, on the other hand, was just starting to face her shock. "I don't understand this. How can other humans be here?" she asked hoarsely.

Annika regarded her levelly, though Chakotay could see that her hand had subtly slipped into her bag. "I could ask you the same question quite fairly, could I not?"

Kathryn stared at her, her own wits not quite gathered yet. "Yes, but…" She shook herself, and Chakotay saw the familiar commanding stance come over her as she stiffened defensively. "My starship, which has some of the most advanced sensors yet built, failed to pick up any humanoid lifesigns on this planet, let alone humans who shouldn't even be in the Delta Quadrant…"

"We intended it that way." Annika cut her off, "The shield gives us some measure of safety."

The interest that statement sparked acted like a bucket of cold water over Kathryn, her sense of tactical priorities returning to her. "A shield? There are hostiles on this planet?" She glanced around the camp with new, suspicious eyes, but her surroundings appeared as benign as ever.

"Not on the surface." Annika replied cagily, stepping back as she prepared herself to flee back to the protection of the forest. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken it upon herself to follow Chakotay, it could well be an error that would cost her and her own. "This region of space is dangerous."

"To have a shield that lets you hide from the Vidiians would certainly be a wise move." Chakotay commented softly, ostensibly to his former Captain but really addressing a visibly uptight Annika.

"Don't we know it." Kathryn replied wryly before giving Annika a cautious smile. "I think we can all conclude here that we have an awful lot to talk about."

"Agreed." Annika responded, glancing quickly between the trees and the shelter.

Kathryn picked upon her cue. "Let's head inside shall we?" she suggested carefully, gathering up the monkey cage with a grunt before heading for the open door.

Annika arched her barely there, scarred over right eyebrow before following the older woman, trusting enough to be content with Chakotay behind her. When she saw that the shelter had basic floorboards to raise it from the ground, she automatically bent to take off her dirtied sandals and leave them outside, smirking as she saw guilt pass over Chakotay's face just before he began hastily kicking off his own boots. "I have to clean the floor at my house." She explained teasingly.

Kathryn heard Chakotay's sheepish but light chuckle in response and decided now was the time to make introductions, extending her hand to the girl as she moved past the threshold. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the U.S.S Voyager. Commander Chakotay is my First Officer."

If she'd expected some joy in response to this show of Starfleet, and by extension Federation, authority, Annika's reaction was the polar opposite of what she'd anticipated. All of the colour in her young face drained away, a strangled, angry gasp leaving her throat as she stumbled backwards, almost colliding with Chakotay. "Starfleet?" she choked out in disbelief, instantly tense and defensive. "That's impossible! There's no way a ship would be stationed in the Delta Quadrant…" She railed before fighting to compose herself, "Unless there is some amazing new engine, or a wormhole…"

"None of the above I'm afraid." Chakotay cut in sadly.

"Listen, Annika, that's the name you told Chakotay isn't it…" Kathryn began.

Annika bristled, offended by the implication that she'd lied to Chakotay about so basic a fact, when they hadn't had the decency to reveal their link to Starfleet until she was trapped in their home. "I told him so because it _is _my name." She answered icily, "I am Annika Hansen."

"Well, Miss Hansen, how Voyager got to the Delta Quadrant is a long and complicated story, but I can assure you…" Kathryn's voice became strained and bitter, "…that Chakotay and I are alone here now. Our crew had to leave us so they could continue on their journey home." Seeing Annika's face waver in the face of her own emotion, Kathryn added quietly, "I suspect our story is just as complicated as how one sole human girl ended up on New Earth, hidden by a shield on an otherwise primitive world."

"New Earth?" Annika repeated, her mouth twitching with saddened irony as she studied Kathryn with new sympathy. "As for _our _long story, it is not wholly mine to tell." She sighed heavily, "I should not even have revealed the existence of the shield."

"Maybe not, but I'm glad you did." Kathryn replied, "It shows some measure of trust."

Annika glanced at Chakotay for confirmation of the sentiment; she heaved a deep breath when Chakotay smiled at her encouragingly. "Chakotay told me you were left here because of the virus, the one which lies dormant on the surface."

Kathryn gave Chakotay a sharp look and remained silent for a time before answering. "Yes. Is that why you're stranded here?"

"Not exactly." Annika answered warily as she eyed the microscopes that dominated particularly half the shelter. "May I?"

"Go ahead." Chakotay jumped in before Kathryn could deny her, he'd had a feeling that Annika knew about the virus ever since he'd first brought it up.

Her bare feet padding across the floor, Annika expertly set the microscope to peer down at the current slide. She'd hardly glanced at the sample before her head shot up with her features twisted into an incredulous frown. "You've been studying the flying insects, the alien mosquitoes so to speak?"

"That's what bit us, how we contracted the virus…" Kathryn began to explain patiently.

"No, no it's not." Annika countered resolutely. She turned away from her to focus on Chakotay instead, "Did you dig for soil samples when you came on your away mission?"

Chakotay nodded, "That's the standard procedure."

"Then it was the ground burrowing beetle that infected you." Annika concluded confidently, "These…" She gestured at the microscope dismissively, "The 'mosquitoes' carry many viruses, but not the one which afflicts you."

Chakotay looked to Kathryn, grasping her arm to support her when he saw her face pale. "So, you're saying…we could've been dissecting these bugs for years and never would've had a chance of finding the cure?"

"That's what I'm saying." Annika confirmed quietly, "It's been proven."

"By who?" Kathryn burst out accusingly as all her hope, so cherished before now, of finding the cure quickly and returning to Voyager, abandoned her as completely as kit had sustained her. "How are you qualified to judge that?"

Annika had intended to tread carefully with this woman, but her sense of pride as well as her social inexperience kicked in. "Both of my parents have PhDs in exobiology so I'd say they're highly qualified to judge!"

Kathryn blinked, feeling dazed. "Your parents?" she echoed faintly.

Chakotay shifted so that he was standing between the two women. "You live here with your _parents_ Annika? How long have you been here?"

Annika's pale face was resolutely impassive for a moment, but something in his beseeching question broke through her defences. He could see her eyes shimmering with emotion as she looked up at him. "18 years." She finally whispered.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


	4. Into the Hansens' Den

**A/n: Thanks to Sweetdeath04 for updating 'Masks' with a brilliant new chapter! The aftermath of 'Equinox' does need to be explored and you're doing a great job of it in that story!**

"18 years?" Chakotay echoed hoarsely. Annika's whisper may as well have been a hard punch to the stomach, he'd guessed that she'd grown used to life here, but eighteen years? That made Voyager's journey so far seem like small change in comparison. One glance at Kathryn made his gut twist a second time in confirmation. If Annika's first revelation about the nature of their infection had been a body blow, this one had kicked her legs right from under her. Her face was violently, disturbingly pale as she grasped at the table for support, staring at the intruder with vacant, unseeing eyes.

"Isn't that what I said?" Annika said with harsh impatience before she turned away from him for a moment, heaving a deep breath as she regained control. "It's actually been a little longer than that technically, the years on this planet are the equivalent of thirteen Earth months, but we've always used the Stardate calendar system to keep track." She took a tentative step forward, her uninjured hand lightly touching Kathryn's upper arm in understanding as she gazed sadly up at Chakotay, but almost as soon as that instant of connection had formed been the three of them, she broke it, twisting away back towards the door. "I think we've talked enough for today." She advised Chakotay quietly as she hitched her bag back over one shoulder. "I…" The uncertainty Chakotay had first glimpsed in the forest returned to her eyes, "I can come back tomorrow?"

Chakotay took one strong stride towards her, keeping their gazes locked. "Please." He murmured softly.

Annika's shaky nod was interrupted by Kathryn's voice, suddenly strident. "No, wait!"

Chakotay saw Annika shy slightly at her tone and glanced at Kathryn warningly. "Captain…"

She barely acknowledged him as she moved confidently past. "No Chakotay." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand as she turned her focus completely on Annika. "Miss Hansen, I understand you have bigger considerations, the safety and welfare of your group and so on, I respect that…" She paused to allow Annika to nod warily, obviously caught off guard by abrupt shift in the older woman's mood. Chakotay however, had seen Kathryn turn on her 'Captain' switch often enough to recognise what was happening. Kathryn now commanded the space so utterly the little shelter may as well have been Voyager's Bridge, and Annika the unsuspecting alien on the viewscreen. Annika could sense it on some level, despite being the taller and more athletic of the two, she was shrinking away from the Captain's presence. "But…" Kathryn continued, "From what I gather we're only going to have each other to rely on however long we're stranded here. For myself at least, I intend to do everything I can to get off of this planet, and I think working together would give us all the best chance of achieving that goal we surely share." She only stopped for air as she stared up at Annika resolutely, "I'm asking you to take us to your camp, as soon as possible, today."

Annika appeared slightly dazed, not used of course to Kathryn's grand and affecting speeches. "To escape, or to live here, you're right in saying that we can help each other, but…" She bit her lip, "It is not entirely my decision."

"But by taking us to your camp we can meet the others who would make that decision?" Kathryn pressed her.

Annika's eyes roamed the shelter, as if searching for an escape route, it was only when they fell on Chakotay's face, which at that moment was considerably less intimidating than Kathryn's, did she seem to settle on a decision. "Yes, you could." She conceded reluctantly, sighing heavily again as she glanced out the open door, "If you really do want to come with me, we should leave now, so that you have time to get back here before the sun sets."

"It's a deal then." Kathryn agreed in eager satisfaction before her eyes narrowed slightly, "How far is it to your camp exactly?"

"Around 7 kilometres." Annika answered nonchalantly as she retrieved her sandals and put them back on. She gave a small smirk, starting to relax again, when she saw their faces in response to that. "You're going to have to learn to enjoy a good walk if you live here, for no matter how long."

Chakotay smiled at her gamely, hearing the challenge in her tone, as he too got into his boots. "I knew that Starfleet wilderness training would come in handy some day."

"And it hasn't already Commander?" Kathryn asked drily, "I'll need to assign you to more away missions if we ever get back on Voyager."

Chakotay grimaced good-humouredly, "I wouldn't go that far Captain."

Annika's face however, had tightened. "Don't mention that you're Starfleet until I tell them, it might not go down well." She ignored Kathryn's unsettled frown and gestured back towards the research she had just discounted, "Bring some of that with you if you wish, since you didn't believe me, and I'll try to convince them to help you with it."

Kathryn's face brightened and she scurried to the back of the shelter to grab hold of her largest carry case. Chakotay didn't wait around to watch her deliberate over what to pack. Vital research or not, he'd heard enough about viruses and the equipment necessary for their study to last him a lifetime. He followed Annika instead, an amused smile pulling at his lips as he saw that she was leaning over the side of the bathtub he'd built, studying it with an intent, almost childish, curiosity. "It's a bathtub." He explained as he came up behind her.

Annika jumped at the sound of his voice and immediately pulled herself upright, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment at being caught out before that feeling was overtaken by incredulity. "You had a bathtub brought down from your ship?"

Chakotay laughed at the thought, "Hardly." He cleared his throat as, staring at it, the bathtub struck him as the folly Annika obviously thought it was. "Actually I built it…" He admitted, "I was…pretty bored." He added lamely.

Annika nodded in understanding, "Why do you think I learned English, Italian…and a little Klingon?" She asked wryly, "Boredom is to be expected here. I only asked about the bathtub because there are several hot springs in this area for bathing…"

"We didn't see much geothermic activity on Voyager's sensors…" Chakotay muttered thoughtfully.

"Our shield can disrupt many types of sensors." Annika replied confidently, "Believe me, the hot springs do exist."

"And knowing about them would've saved me from having to heat up bucket after bucket of water to fill this damned bathtub for Kathryn…" Chakotay concluded with a shake of his head, giving the tub a small kick before joining Annika when she began to giggle. The Captain herself finally appearing at the shelter's door with two cases squeezed under one arm and a tricorder tightly in hand put a stop to their laughter, but Chakotay couldn't stop himself from trying to lighten the mood once more. "Hey Kathryn, it sounds like I could've saved myself a lot of work if I'd just discovered some hot springs before I started building that bathtub!"

"I didn't ask you for it Chakotay…" Kathryn replied distractedly as she pushed on ahead, already preoccupied with her tricorder. "Lead the way please, Miss Hansen!"

* * *

They managed to cover a good level of distance even with Kathryn stubbornly loaded down with her cases. Chakotay could hardly be impressed with their efforts though, since Annika moved through the progressively thickening forest with an ease he had to envy. The young woman, for even after the revelation of her eighteen year stay here changed his calculations a bit she was still undoubtedly young, did not disappear for long stretches as she had when they'd been heading back to his camp, he supposed she was leading rather than following him now, still kept a good gap between herself and her new companions. Kathryn at least, was growing suspicious as she tired, "This is the densest section of forest we've been through on this planet, sunlight is having trouble getting through, why would anyone make camp around here?"

"They're anxious enough to build a shield that hides their lifesigns from orbit, and presumably a lot of other things besides, so a forest hideout makes sense." Chakotay answered tightly.

Kathryn pursed her lips, "The shield… The prospect of such technology excites me of course, but it should make us twice as wary. How did Annika's people get a hold of such superior technology? I've never heard of any Federation expeditions to the Delta Quadrant, certainly not scientific ones as she seemed to indicate…how do we know for sure that she is human? We've been deceived before…"

"Annika _is _human!" Chakotay cut her off sharply, dipping his gaze when Kathryn gave him a searching look, "I know it Captain, she was just as stunned to see me as I was to see her, maybe even more so. And besides, wouldn't some manipulative telepathic alien just speak English with me straight off…"

Since Kathryn could tell her First Officer was prepared to fire off several more points in Annika's defence, she put her free hand on his shoulder to silence him. "I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt Chakotay, believe me, I'd love to find other sentient life forms here let alone humans, I'm just saying that we need to be aware that some things don't add up quite yet."

"They will." Chakotay said quietly, before turning to his Captain, "But I do understand what you're saying."

Kathryn smiled at him in relief, "Good."

Annika reappeared in front of them, breathing hard but nonetheless composed. "We've almost reached the shield."

Chakotay frowned as his eyes focused in on the sound of rushing water nearby. "Is there a river first?"

Annika was pleased by his perceptiveness, "Yes, and we need to cross it. I went ahead to check the current, it's strong but still safe to wade across."

"You have to wade across a river every time you want to step outside your shield?" Chakotay asked, doubting her for the first time.

"No, there are of course other places that can be passed through." Annika replied honestly, "But this one is closest to your camp and I'm sure you understand that I do need to take some precautions."

"That would only be sensible." Kathryn agreed in a neutral tone, through internally she was perturbed. "But you will allow us to cross the river and go through the shield afterwards?"

"Yes." Annika assured her tiredly, "Come on." They walked another half kilometre or so before the river did indeed stretch out before them. Chakotay saw at once that Annika was right and it could be waded through, it was long and fast flowing, winding over the forest floor, but narrow at the point she'd led them to as well as relatively shallow. "We did ford it at one point with a fallen tree." Annika explained briefly, "But the last storm washed it away downriver."

Kathryn frowned thoughtfully, "We haven't been through any bad weather yet…"

"When we have a storm you'll know about it." Annika cut in, "Plasma storms form just above this planet's atmosphere and affect the weather accordingly."

Kathryn swallowed, that didn't sound hospitable. There seemed to be a growing list of reasons this particular M-class planet didn't naturally support humanoid life. "That's…unusual." She conceded faintly with an uneasy glance at Chakotay.

"I think we've already established that about this planet on several levels Captain." Chakotay responded as he took off his boots, bunched up his socks inside them and rolled his trousers up to his knees in preparation for the task ahead.

Annika, sandals already in one hand, slipped her feet in at the water's edge, gasping slightly at the chill at first but soon relishing it after the long walk. No matter how she'd teased those two, she wasn't used to walking back and forth this far from home either, they couldn't do without her at home for long and that guilt built up on her fear that Chakotay and his Captain would be sent packing. "Follow my path exactly and hop from stone to stone where you can." She ordered without looking back at them as she held up the worn skirt of her dress and began to wade steadily through the water, soon finding one of the smooth stones resting on the surface that she'd spoken of and stepping on, soon hopping her way right to the slimy but secure soil of the opposite bank.

Chakotay couldn't quite follow that display of mountain goat like agility, but he was tall and strong enough to wade through the water itself without much difficulty, since the water didn't reach his knees. He was glad he'd been wise enough to take one of Kathryn's cumbersome cases with him, she had enough trouble trying to cross with one held high above her head and her tricorder strung around her neck. She fell to her knees at one point, getting thoroughly soaked, but grit her teeth and scrambled back up, making it to the bank looking like a drowned rat but with the perfectly dry research case proudly grasped in her hands. "Are you okay?" Chakotay asked in concern when he saw her frantic expression.

"Yes." She batted him away impatiently, "Where is this shield Annika?"

"Here." Annika answered simply, holding her hand out in the only gap between the densely packed trees. A luminous green forcefield instantly flashed into existence around her splayed fingers, the impact of her touch rippling out until they could see that the forcefield enveloped not only the extent of the forest they could see on this side of the river but far beyond it and high into the surrounding sky. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively when she saw their stunned expressions. "After I lower the shield to let us enter and then raise it again, technology will stop functioning. I can re-set the shield to accept your devices' frequencies but only from home."

Kathryn's face hardened again into suspicion, "So our tricorders, the Universal Translators in our comm. badges…"

"Will all stop working for now, yes." Annika confirmed before adding only half-jokingly, "Don't worry, Chakotay will tell you that my English is much better than his Swedish."

"It certainly is." Chakotay chuckled as he peered through the forest in search of any sign of a forcefield generator, but the trees remained empty and secretive to his eyes. "Is it some sort of advanced electro-magnetic field? That affect has been mostly overcome by modern technology though…"

"The basic principle is the same." Annika replied, cagey once more as she suddenly grasped a wire that had been camouflaged in the bark of the nearest tree and with a small tug a neat device that fit snugly into her hand descended down from the tree line. Kathryn tried to look over her shoulder to investigate it, but she couldn't begin to decipher the symbols on the control, which gave off a dim glow the same burning shade of green as the forcefield itself. Annika's fingers did a brief dance across the key pad and as the shield shimmered obediently she hastily pulled both Chakotay and Kathryn through it before in reinitialised almost immediately. "You are now behind the shield." She announced pointedly as she moved forward with new haste, her accent once again thick, her words slow. "We must go."

Kathryn however, had finally noticed the phaser hidden in Annika's bag. "Will that still work behind the shield? You must've set your own technology to match the shield frequency…"

"Ja." Annika broke in shortly, impatiently pulling out the phaser for her to inspect. "But this is old. It only has one shot before…charging. I already shot Chakotay."

Kathryn spun around to face Chakotay, aghast. "She _shot _you?"

"She shot _at _me." Chakotay corrected, nonplussed. "You missed didn't you Annika?"

"I did miss." Annika agreed distractedly, more on her mind now than Kathryn's opinion of her as they approached home.

"You never told me she fired at you!" Kathryn hissed in Chakotay's ear, having to break into a jog to keep up with his and Annika's longer strides.

"You never asked." Chakotay reminded her, "And she never intended to hurt me then, I just frightened her." He elaborated tersely, intrigued by the change in Annika's manner, fresh anxiety had steeped into her stance as she walked ahead.

Suddenly a deep, male voice echoed through the trees, Chakotay could tell the speaker was close, but, predictably with his Universal Translator down, he couldn't understand a word of what was said. "Annika? Du är sen!"

The voice sounded distinctly worried rather than in any way threatening, but Kathryn still demanded, "What did he say?"

"He said that I'm late." Annika answered, her frown deepening in consideration before she softly called a reply, "Tala engelska Papa!"

"Papa?" Chakotay muttered as he exchanged a glance with a now curious Kathryn.

The man's reply, with its strong hint of exasperation, confirmed his relationship to Annika as clearly as anything. "Du vet jag talar inte engelska Annika…" His words ringing around the trees heralded his arrival and both Chakotay and Kathryn gasped in surprise.

Mr Hansen, or Dr Hansen if what Annika had claimed was true, was in his mid to late sixties, his straggly hair grey with streaks of dark blonde. His frame, which had once undoubtedly been tall and lean, was thin and hunched over, the stoop in his shoulders emphasised by the fact that he used a crude wooden crutch, his right leg had been amputated above the knee. Despite the unexpected physical frailty which had so shocked the incomers, the blue eyes which widened at the sight of them were keen and sharp as flint. "Papa…" Annika began anxiously, breaking into a sprint to reach him as he stumbled back.

"Herregud!" He exploded in horror, snatching at his daughter's arm and with surprising balance and dexterity reaching around her to seize the phaser from her bag, pointing it steadily at the two intruders even as he wobbled without the full support of his crutch.

"Passa dig!" Annika hissed angrily, wrestling the phaser from her father hand and throwing it aside before forcing him to rely on his crutch again. "Jag kan förklara…"

They then launched into a conversation that was undoubtedly an argument, whispered and un-translated though it was, father and daughter becoming heated to an extent that made Chakotay and Kathryn begin to panic. "Are you getting a word of this?" Chakotay muttered to his Captain.

"Well, I'm guessing that the 'Stjärnflottan' he just spat out in disgust is Starfleet."

"I thought that too." Chakotay muttered back drily, "Shouldn't we intervene?"

"I think if he could understand English he'd be yelling at us by now." Kathryn replied with a sigh.

They listened in again as Annika shifted back towards them, her hands on her hips. "Var är Mama?"

Her father halted, stumped for a moment, then shook his head determinedly, worry and anger shining from his eyes. "Nej, Nej Annika. Din Mama är sjuk…"

"Jag vet!" Annika exclaimed hotly, white faced as she spun away from him to move deeper into the forest and back home to get her mother to reason with her father.

He grasped her wrist again to hold her back, head bowed for a moment before he studied Chakotay and Kathryn for a final time, more thoughtfully this time. "Okej." He murmured to his daughter resignedly, before lifting his gaze to stare the two officers down with steely eyes. "Kom med oss." He stated shortly, gesturing for them to follow him and Annika deeper into the forest.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D Once again, I apologise to any Swedish readers if I got any of your lovely language wrong, although I did get some help from the Swedish subtitles on my 'Voyager' DVDs this time. ;)**


	5. Language Barriers

Kathryn shifted both of her cases onto one hand as she grasped Chakotay's shoulder, leaning towards his ear as she warily eyed Annika and her father walking a few hundred metres ahead, their conversation calmer, but almost as rapid and of course still completely incomprehensible to her monolingual ears. "Where do you think they're leading us?"

Chakotay mulled over his reply, knowing that any answer he gave was unlikely to satisfy her. "Annika said pretty clearly that the device she needs to alter to allow our technology to function is near her home, so I'm guessing they're taking us there."

"Her father didn't seem keen, I'm not sure Annika managed to convince him…" Kathryn muttered apprehensively, "We could be walking into a trap."

"I think that they've got just as much right to be wary of us as we have to be wary of them." Chakotay reminded her, "Dr Hansen isn't exactly fighting fit."

"No." Kathryn readily admitted. The older man's gait had steadied since they'd first encountered him; he now looked as agile as anyone reliant on a crutch could in a muddy forest with multiple obstacles underfoot. He wasn't new to his disablement, had memorised the lay of the land, she was stumbling more than he was. "But I get the feeling these people have always relied on their brains to defend and attack."

Chakotay nodded in agreement, lengthening his strides as he saw Annika turn away from her father, who kept heading forward and soon disappeared over the rim of a slope, and approach them again. "We'll keep in mind the Starfleet protocols that advise to be prepared for anything."

Kathryn chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that's the one unwritten rule, or maybe it's weaved into the expectation of an officer's common sense."

"Must be a Maquis rule then." Chakotay teased, ignoring her indignant gasp as Annika reached them. He was glad to see that she was the one who'd retrieved her phaser rather than her father.

"We are here at my home." She reported without preamble, ushering them nervously up the slope, "My father has gone ahead…"

Captain and Commander both tensed at that, experience sadly telling them to expect an ambush, but instead as they looked down at the scene now spread out below them, they were shocked on an entirely different level. Annika's 'home' was both an impressive compound, and a rambling, scarily precarious structure, what Chakotay would've imagined a rabbit's warren to be like; winding, complex and ready to collapse at any moment. The burnt out, hardly recognisable shell of a small vessel was at the centre of the pinwheel, with simple wooden extensions added to plug the multiple holes in the fuselage and expand the limited living space. It was a scene that verged on dystopian, wrecked technology bound up with the architecture of the old American Wild West frontier. "Well…" Chakotay began as he caught Annika's carefully expectant gaze, "I can see why you thought our shelter was small."

"It's in a crater…" Kathryn murmured in amazement, now able to realise that they were standing at the edge of a shallow crater, which the Hansens ship had gouged into the forest floor. She could even see their final flight trajectory by studying the sharp gash in the tree cover above them, the trees that had been felled by this violent crash had yet to be fully replaced eighteen years after the traumatic event.

"We did not have the luxury of deciding where to…have camp." Annika replied shortly, already beginning her practising half walk half slide down to the base of the crater.

"What did you do with your warp core?" Kathryn called after her, sighing the girl shook her head. Considering how good her English had proven before, Kathryn couldn't help but suspect that she'd been instructed not to answer such questions.

"It looks a lot like a Danube class shuttlecraft, but not quite…" Chakotay mused, trying to focus on what he could make out of the downed ship, searching for some enlightening detail.

"Maybe an Aerie class, along the same lines as a Danube but bigger." Kathryn replied, "They're obsolete now, but were a popular model in their day about twenty years back, which would match their story. The Federation Science Council used them frequently, and also loaned them out to private researchers…"

"Which also would match up with what Annika's told us so far." Chakotay finished, "Are you ready to let that trust stretch a little further?"

Kathryn smiled at him wanly; her eyes still dark with caution even as her voice was warmed by hope. "I'm willing to talk…" She looked down at improvised but still ingenious structure they were faced with entering, "…wherever they will sit down with us to discuss our shared situation. If they're as trustworthy as I'm _beginning _to believe, then they're certainly worth getting to know." She didn't even wait for Chakotay's reply before following Annika towards what obviously served as the main door, built into one of the larger log built additions that seemed to serve as a porch. Shaking his head at her even as relief flooded him with a surprising force, Chakotay reached the door last, a small wooden sign nailed firm to the threshold catching his interest.

"K…Korpsbo…" He muttered, almost stuttering as he tried to approximate some sort of pronunciation of the foreign word.

Annika arched a brow at him in amusement, but quickly obliged his curiosity. "It means 'Raven's Nest'." She explained with a small smile before turning piercing eyes on Kathryn, "Our ship…" She gestured loosely at the wreck which loomed beside them, "…was the U.S.S Raven." She saw their two sets of eyes widen, and though she tried to maintain her smile it became a semi-grimace, "My parents have had to…develop a dark sense of humour."

Chakotay swallowed slightly, "I can understand that."

"Ja…" Annika agreed with a shrug before disappearing inside, Chakotay only a step behind and dragging Kathryn in with him.

It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room; the open door was its only source of daylight. Chakotay's thoughts of the frontier continued to ring true, basic but sturdy wooden shelves lined one wall and the bench Annika's father sat on rested against another. Yet, it wasn't just an entryway, the big, square, metallic table in the centre of the room wouldn't have looked out of place in Voyager's Mess Hall, nor the few chairs squeezed around it. The clash of what these people had once had, and what they had at their disposal now, could hardly have been starker.

This time however, Annika didn't spare a millisecond of her attention on the newcomers' reactions; her sole focus was reaching the small figure curled in the chair farthest from the threatening chill of the doorway, bundled up snugly in a blanket fraying at every corner. "Mama, hur mår du?" she demanded anxiously, her voice catching as she spoke in a panicky rush, "Förlåt mig, jag är sen…"

"Annika, jag mår bra, jag mår bra." A lovely, soft female voice replied, gently but firmly. Her hand left the security of the blanket to cup her daughter's face, the blue veins under the almost transparent skin of that hand poignantly visible when compared to Annika's creamy complexion, though her mother's fingers paused over the scarred flesh that dominated the right side of Annika's face. "Oroa dig inte, min älskling." This was a reprimand for sure, though sorrowful with understanding.

Chakotay watched the scene with a lump in his throat, glaring light thrown on why Annika had asked him, almost pleadingly, if he or Kathryn were a doctor. It wasn't, as he'd thought just moments before, for her father's sake. If Annika had the leanness of a hungry young cat, and her father the haggard look of someone carrying the weight of the world, then her mother was someone hanging onto her life in said world by her fingertips. She'd been beautiful once, he could see enough of Annika's features in her hollowed out, sallow face to know that for certain, but whatever illness was ravaging her had almost run its course. However, it was Annika who looked vulnerable in that moment, quivering at her mother's side like a frightened fawn. He could see Kathryn's expression out of the corner of his eye and hoped he didn't look half as stricken as she did gazing at the failing woman. He knew from experience that seeing the confirmation of what they must already see coming in the eyes of others would cut Annika and her father to the quick.

The woman looked past her daughter and stood abruptly, her jaw set in a tense, determined line even as she wobbled on her feet and had to brace herself on the table. Her suddenly steely, grey gaze never wavered though even as both her loved ones gasped and implored her as the blanket fell away. She stared at the interlopers as if challenging them to dismiss her and reap the mistake, regal as a queen in her castle despite the fact that her frame, she stood almost as tall as Annika, had that particular frailty of someone who'd lost weight all at once. "Välkommen…" She chuckled dryly to herself and exchanged a wry glance with Annika, who exhaled as if forcing herself to relax and not quite succeeding. "Welcome to our home." She corrected, slipping into English that was a slower, less natural echo of her daughter's. "I am Dr Erin Hansen…" She shot her recalcitrant husband a pointed glance and he left the bench to walk to her side, "…this is my husband Dr Magnus Hansen, and you know Annika…"

Kathryn smiled at her in relief, sensing a kindred spirit of sorts in Erin. "You speak English?"

Erin pressed her lips together, an expression Chakotay recognised from whenever Annika was considering what to say. "Liten…a little." She answered, "My…grandmother was from Boston."

"Oh?" Kathryn replied eagerly, finally setting her cases down on the floor. "Is that where you got your name from? Erin sounds Irish American rather than Swedish…"

Chakotay fought the laugh coming to his lips, sometimes the contrast between Kathryn the sceptical scientist and 'Kathy', the woman who adored everything kitsch, twee and melodramatic amused him; she had a tenacious attachment to her Irish ancestry and lapped up all the touristy folklore that holonovels still propagated about that proud country. He liked it less when the same contradiction made her relish some aspects of his own Native American heritage and disregard or belittle other aspects that were often the most serious to him. Dismissing the stray thought, he smiled with warm politeness at Erin, while also being compelled to reach out to touch Annika's arm in reassurance, "Your and Annika's English is very good. You taught her?"

The smile Erin gave him, which had been wide as she saw him show kindness to her daughter, instantly thinned, her eyes becoming unreadable, Magnus actually flinched. "Not…exact." She replied stiltedly, her English tripping up.

"Annika?" Magnus spoke up, gently pulling his daughter aside by the elbow and apparently restarting their earlier conversation.

Chakotay tried not to focus on them, he was driven to try to gleam _something _from whatever they were saying, even if it was just studying the subtle changes in their taut, serious faces. Erin had stopped talking, either because she was tired, or, as he was beginning to suspect, she'd used up most of her English vocabulary despite her confident delivery. The apprehension pulled out of them by his question made him wonder, who _had _taught Annika English?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden beep of a tricorder nearby, already an almost foreign sound after these weeks on New Earth to find Magnus scanning him and Kathryn with an intent expression on his face, murmuring a stream of information to Annika standing at his shoulder. Kathryn's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Annika immediately moved forward to deflect her. "We have found the frequency for your technology. I will reset our defences to allow it to work." She started to move towards the door, but her father held her back for a moment, copying Erin's earlier gesture and stroking her scarred cheek comfortingly as he pressed the tricorder into her hand.

Erin, too, looked to her daughter as Annika headed for the door, saying something that finally made Annika's smile return with all its natural brightness, and she directed it as Chakotay and Kathryn as, perplexingly, she picked up a large bucket sitting by the door. "I'll be back soon." She assured them calmly before regarding her father with a strained smirk, "Du ska vara trevlig Papa?"

Erin burst out laughing, and even Magnus chuckled until his wife's laughter became a coughing fit. Annika's face fell guiltily, but Erin was quick to dissuade her concern by letting Kathryn and Chakotay in on the joke, "Yes, I will make sure your father is nice to them Anni."

"Erin…" Magnus muttered in embarrassment before curiously peering at Kathryn's cases after a blushing Annika had left. She must've told him of Kathryn's, in her opinion, pointless trials and tribulations while she'd walked with him.

Kathryn eagerly opened the case, ready to have Annika's dismissal disproved by her more qualified parents, but Chakotay was distracted by the sight of Annika bent over a water pump he'd previously failed to notice. "There are only the three of you here aren't there?" he asked, unable to keep an irrational note of accusation from his tone, Annika was apparently the sole support, the single carer, for these two frail, unorthodox scientists who were also her parents. If there were others, surely they would be here?

Erin bristled in her chair, but finally responded with weary, but sharpened, frankness. "There are only two of _you_, nothing is different."

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I'm wondering if anyone's going to be able to guess what Annika's going off to do, other than make the universal translators work again… ;) **


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